I think it’s starting to hit me that in just a little over a month, my class will be graduating and moving on with our lives, and I probably won’t see 80% of the people I’ve spent the past four years with ever again. Everything is a ‘last’… and even though that can be a good thing (last calculus test, last AP exam), they can also be sad – last spring break at home, last orchestra trip, last JLC breakfast run.
Despite the abundance of ‘lasts’, the past two months have also brought a lot of firsts! I stayed in New York City for the first time over spring break. My friends took me to watch my first Broadway show (Rodger & Hammerstein’s Cinderella – I loved it!), and we went up the Empire State Building, attended a Hillsong church service, did some shopping, and ate a lot!
One of the last stops of the trip was to Ladurée – the famed Parisian macaron store. Normally the line to get in is mindbogglingly long, but we went on a rainy Monday morning and had no wait. The store was posh and luxurious, the macarons were beautiful, and more importantly, they were absolutely delicious. My mouth is watering just thinking about them, so if you have access to a Ladurée, they are worth the occasional splurge. New York City was exciting and overwhelming for me at the same time. I decided that it’s a fun place to visit, but I couldn’t live (go to school) there.
I could, however, definitely go to school here. 🙂 I am so excited to spend the next four years in Chapel Hill, cheering on the Tar Heels! I visited Carolina for the first time in March and officially committed in April – it is a huge relief to finally know where you’re going for college.
Last week, TJ orchestras went to Myrtle Beach for an adjudicated performance/competition and took home every award there was to win. The saying goes ‘work hard, play harder’ – and that, we did. The entire trip was such a blast, words couldn’t do it justice. The first night, we all dressed up and went on a riverboat cruise for dinner. This was our view from the boat:
The food served isn’t worth mentioning, but it was the experience and good company that made everyone have a good time, even on the top deck in the rain.
We stayed at a resort in condos of 5-6 people each, so one night we held a potluck dinner. Five rooms each cooked a different dish – we had pasta, tacos, salad, fruit salad, and fried potatoes. Lilly and I even managed to whip up a variation of these Nutella cupcakes with limited equipment and some improvisation! For a group of twenty-five teenagers (boys included!), I was very impressed with our work and it was the best meal we had at Myrtle Beach, hands down.
Making s’mores, playing cards, relaxing on the beach, cooking dinner/breakfast, and late-night powwows in our condo with these crazies – best last orchestra trip ever 🙂
One of my favorite places we we went to was Broadway at the Beach, a cute little shopping center with a lot of restaurants, shops, and things to do. I went to the Hard Rock Cafe for the first time here, too. The decor isn’t really my thing and the food wasn’t anything special so I probably wouldn’t go again, but it’s something you need to do once. After we ate, some of the guys did the bull ride competition and rock climbing, and we took lots of silly pictures in various settings. I’d definitely recommend a visit to Broadway at the Beach if you’re vacationing in Myrtle!
I finally managed to pull myself out of bed on our last morning to experience a sunrise on the beach. Totally. Worth it.
I would give so much to go back here… thanks for the memories! <3